Lessons
Overview
1Getting Started
00:50 2What Is A Symbol
01:05 3Types of Brandmarks
01:48 4Identity Systems
03:29 5Minimalism Vs Abstraction
02:08 6What Makes A Good Symbol
02:26 7Aesthetic Terminology
01:15Other Things To Keep In Mind
02:26 9Book Recomendations
00:48 10Your Project
00:52 11Quiz: Overview
Clarifying Your Intent
12Setting the Stage
00:23 13Knowing Your Client
01:30 14Generating Key Ideas
03:27 15Moodboards
02:59 16Quiz: Clarifying Your Intent
Techniques
17The Designer's Approach to Drawing
00:36 18Free Sketching
03:57 19Illustrating With Shapes
10:24 20Thinking With Grids
10:26 21Customizing Type
14:06 22Building Letterforms From Scratch
07:08 23Quiz: Techniques
Finishing With Character
24Adding Life To Your Concepts
00:19 25Tightening Up
07:35 26Stylistic Variations
01:33 27Building Out A Set
02:01 28Pairing With Type
02:22 29Mocking Up
02:08 30Presenting the Line-Up
01:02 31Pitch Deck Completed
00:24 32Quiz: Finishing With Character
Conclusion
33Summary
00:47Final Quiz
34Final Quiz
Lesson Info
Other Things To Keep In Mind
There are two other things I'd like you to keep in mind when designing symbols and both of them have to do with subconscious perception, most of the world doesn't spend a lot of time examining brand marks, they exist in the background and almost become less noticeable than where we see them. This is because the mind sees things in shapes and blobs first before it fully defines what it's looking at. So if most of the world isn't focusing on these shapes were designing, it might help us to think of how recognizable our brand marks are when they are not seen front and center. One way to do this is to draw an outline around the brand mark. If the outline alone is very simple, we might consider that our brand mark could get lost in a sea of similar shapes. This isn't a black and white approach. There are plenty of great brand marks that have simple outlines, but it could be a helpful tool for you to push your mark to be more unique. Second, when designing a brand mark, it's smart to work in...
black and white until absolutely necessary. The reason for this is that an over reliance on color can make your mark week when it needs to be used in one color instances, The mastercard logo is widely recognizable and when Pentagram redesigned the brand mark in 2016, they simplified its details into a series of three colors. I'm not saying this is an unsuccessful redesign but we have to consider every possible use that somebody will have for our designs during their lifetime. That's why when we lay out the brand guidelines, we have to have a version of the brand mark that works for every iteration. So typically you'll have your full color version which is usually ideal and then you might have a backup gray scale version which of course is useful when color isn't an option, But in some instances you may be restricted to using one color entirely. That means no extra shades colors nothing. So pentagram designed a one color version of the Mastercard logo, which they call the solid version. In the past one color version of a brand mark would be included because some printing techniques only allow for one color, but some say that since most brand mark applications are digital these days there is little use for one color version. Still I think we need to keep in mind that there are plenty of times in a brand mark is sent to a third party and that third party may need to place the mark over a complicated graphic or photograph In which case they may want to use one color solution. We should also consider that a us centric brand mark may lose personality and visual interest when a gray scale or one color version is used. Does the master card logo look as interesting in black and white to be on the safe side and to ensure that your mark is as strong as it can be, I highly recommend getting the mark as close to perfect in black and white as possible.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Muhammad Osama
He's great.
Student Work
Related Classes
Branding